It is a common medical practice to collect samples of body fluids from a patient, such as blood, urine and the like, and have them tested at a remote laboratory. Such samples are conventionally placed in sealed containers and the sealed containers are packaged and shipped to the laboratory.
Various types of packaging have been used to ship such body fluid containers, including padded envelopes, corrugated cartons and other conventional packaging. However, despite the use of padded packaging and careful handling such body fluid containers have on frequent occasions become ruptured. The body fluid sample has thereupon soaked through the envelope or other packaging contaminating other packages and posing substantial likelihood of being contacted by persons handling such packages.
With the potential that such liquids may be biohazardous, such as contaminated with the AIDS virus or other infectious disease, the rupturing of such a container places persons handling these and other packages at risk of extremely harmful consequences. In addition, persons to whom the other packages that have been contaminated are addressed frequently will not accept such packages.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shipping bag for containers of potentially biohazardous liquids which obviates the aforementioned problems and deficiencies of prior packaging.